6 The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana August 16, 1996
I
Cardinal Bernardin launches unity initiative
By ANGELA APTE
Catholic News Service
CHICAGO (CNS) -- Cardinal
Joseph L. Bernardin of Chicago
has announced a major initia-
tive to help U.S. Catholics move
past what he called a dangerous
polarization in the church.
The initiative, called the
Catholic Common Ground Pro-
ject, is to include national con-
ferences to draw Catholics into
constructive dialogue on church
issues, he said.
At a news conference intro-
ducing the initiative Aug. 12,
the cardinal said an advisory
committee of seven other bish-
ops, including Cardinal Roger
M. Mahony of Los Angeles, and
16 other Catholic leaders from
across the nation will assist him
in the project.
"I have been troubled that an
increasing polarization within
the church and, at times, a
mean-spiritedness have hin-
dered the kind of dialogue that
helps us address our mission
and concerns," he said.
"The unity of the church is
threatened" by the polarization,
he said, and "the great gift of
the Second Vatican Council is
in danger of being seriously un-
dermined."
Cardinal Beruardin released
a 3,000-word statement, "Called
to be Catholic," which he said
will be a framework for the ini-
tiative.
It asks Catholics of diverse
perspectives to come together
and approach current church
issues with "fresh eyes, open
minds and changed hearts...
to pursue their disagreements
in a renewed spirit of dia-
logue."
Cardinal Bernardin told re-
porters that the initiative&apos;s first
conference, tentatively slated
forChicago next year, will ad-
dress culture and its influence
on the church.
He said the group is not yet
clear on who they will invite to
the conference or how, but he
"would be happy to see anyone"
attend who is interested in
being in dialogue.
His advisory committee will
iron out details of the form of
such conferences and how to fol-
low up on them afterward, he
said..
Cardinal Bernardin, who is
still receiving chemotherapy fol-
lowing surgery for pancreatic
cancer last year, said that com-
ing "face to face with the real-
ity of death" through cancer has
made him reflect more deeply
on what is really important in
the church.
He said he was particularly
disturbed by what appears to be
"a great deal of distrust" among
Catholics today•
"The faithful members of the
church are weary, and our wit-
ness to government, society and
culture is compromised," he
said.
He said the discussions lead-
ing up to "Called to be Catholic"
began three years ago.
He stressed that the project
is not a response to specific
groups or recent events in the
church, such as the church re-
form calls of Call to Action and
We Are Church or the legisla-
tion last spring by Bishop
Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lin-
coln, Neb., excommunicating
Catholics who belong to certain
non-Catholic or dissenting
Catholic groups.
"This precedes all of that. It
is not a response to any of those
initiatives," he said.
He also said it is not his in-
tent to form "a teaching group,
a dogmatic group" or some form
of "official" dialogue group in
the church.
"Our hope is with dialogue to
come to a better understanding
of church teaching and doctrine.
•.. The world needs our Catholic
faith more than ever," he said.
He said there is evidence all
over of the polarization in the
church. "To deny that, as some
people do, is to deny reality," he
said.
Among advisory committee
members with Cardinal Bernardin
at the news conference was Sister
Doris Gottemoeller, president of
the Sisters of Mercy of the Ameri-
cas, who said one of her concerns
was "ecclesial minimalism."
"There is a tendency to con-
fine the church to one or an-
other aspect . . . to make all
judgments in light of that lim-'
ited view," she said.
"The council mandated a pro-
cess of change and renewal and
we've had to deal with labels
like faithful and unfaithful, au-
thentic and unauthentic religion
ever since that time," she said.
Another committee member,
Pittsburgh attorney and phi-
lanthropist Thomas J. Don-
nelly, joined the cardinal in ex-
pressing concern about young
people and the little relevance
that religion, especially institu-
tional religion, seems to have on
their lives.
"For the past several decades
my Catholic activity has been
centered on Catholic higher ed-
ucation," he said.
While many young people are
very committed to the church,
he said, "there also exists a sub-
stantial, pervasive attitude of
indifference" which he believes
is largely a consequence of the
polarization described in the
statement•
Among church issues that the
statement says ought to be ad-
dressed openly and honestly
are:
• Changing roles of women.
• The eucharistic liturgy as
most Catholics experience it.
• The meaningof human sex-
uality and the gap between
church teaching and the views
of many Catholics on some
moral issues.
• The way decisions are made
in the church.
Cardinal Bernardin said he
has sent correspondence and
copies of his statements to the
Holy See but has not heard yet
from Vatican officials.
He said he also contacted
Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of
Cleveland, president of the Na-
tional Conference of Catholic
Bishops, to inform him that the
project "does not in any way im-
pinge upon the responsibilities
of the conference."
Contributing to this story was
Bill Britt in Chicago•
Accot
CHICAGO (CNS)  One key to t
Project to restore Catholic vitality
life
theology, unhistorical
have
The project aims at getting beyond
have polarized many U,S. Catholics in z
placing
"Our discussion must be accountable to
revelation,
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